


Every little thing

by mirawohoo (metawohoo)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 18:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9338468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metawohoo/pseuds/mirawohoo
Summary: "You know, she is a gem," Nooroo commented.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadybugSin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadybugSin/gifts).



> This is a birthday gift for [LadybugSin](http://archiveofourown.org/users/LadybugSin/pseuds/LadybugSin), who is the best (and roleplays a fantastic Nathalie).
> 
> Happy birthday <3

Gabriel had to admit the start of a new year was a relief. More precisely, it was a relief to wake up on monday, January the second to find life had returned to normalcy. Adrien was at school. The office was open, the employees that had vanished for the winter holiday were back, for the most part, with endless work to catch up on. There would be a rush of activity for a few days at least, something to keep one's mind busy. And - more importantly - the holiday was over. He would no longer be expected to display a cheerful facade. It was not that he was against  _ pretending _ (especially when Adrien needed him to), but there was only so much mirth and warmth you could conjure when you had none left.

Thankfully, the boy had  _ Nathalie. _

Gabriel was glad to see the emails he had received overnight were no longer adorned with animated gifs of holly, baubles and snowflakes. He was glad to have received three dozen of them (they kept him busy through breakfast). He was glad the radio was no longer playing Christmas songs. He was  _ particularly _ glad Nooroo would no longer hum them under his breath.

Work would be so restful.

"Nathalie started working early," Nooroo commented a little after breakfast, after peeking at the email Gabriel was answering to.

It was a conversation between Stella Spotlight, her assistant and Nathalie, and the latest timestamp was 'half past five in the morning'. Nathalie  _ had _ started her workday early indeed, but it was not unusual. If her tasks of the day required reactions from other people, she liked to get them out of the way first thing, before even driving Adrien to school. It worked well for everyone involved.

"She always does," Gabriel replied, typing his own answer.

Nooroo nodded. He flew to the window, staring at the courtyard to wait for Nathalie to arrive. At that time of the day, she was driving Adrien to school, and Nooroo enjoyed spreading his wings a little in her absence.

"You know, she is a gem," the Kwami commented.

Gabriel tensed a little. In other circumstances, he would have nodded at Nooroo's remark, without giving it any more thought. It was true. It meant nothing.

As things were, Gabriel had been trying his hardest not to give any thought to Nathalie, and he was incredibly apt at lying to himself. Still. He remembered the way she had smiled at Adrien on Christmas Eve, and he remembered his own feelings about that smile and the woman it belonged to. It had been fleeting, but Nooroo was nothing if not perceptive.

"She is," Gabriel replied in a clipped voice.

Nooroo left it at that.

His master busied himself with work.

When Nathalie returned, Gabriel had long forgotten the short conversation. They had a brief, professional exchange about Stella Spotlight. Later on, they arranged an appointment with Jagged Stone and discussed the distribution of the spring collection. For the most part, Gabriel focused on his work and Nathalie on hers. She came and went. He paid her no mind.

It was well past noon when the sounds of shuffling and clattering coming from the hallway. Figuring he might as well take a break, he walked out of his office and found Nathalie under the Christmas tree, busy removing the ornaments.

"Need help with that?" he offered, joining her.

"It's fine, sir," she replied, entirely focused on the glittery snowflake she was trying to detach from the tree.

It was stuck and, on top of that, she had to stand on her tiptoes to reach it. Gabriel grabbed the branch and pulled it down. It allowed her to tug and pull the snowflake past the needles it was caught around.

"Thank you, sir," she murmured, crouching to put the ornament back into its box and immediately finding another Christmas ball to take down. She settled for a burgundy one decorated with silvery bells. "But, really, I'll be fine. I just need to be done by four. That's when the tree will be collected. There might be some noise," she added as an afterthought.

He nodded with an approving hum, then reached for a little gingerbread character dangling from a branch. He got it out easily, put it in the decorations box, and took a second one down.

Nathalie observed him from the corner of her eye but did not comment.

Gabriel removed a golden angel from the tree.

"I have not thanked you yet for what you did on Christmas Eve," he said, not looking at her. "But I can't express how deeply I appreciated it. You made Adrien blissfully happy."

She turned away, embarrassed, and pretended to be deeply interested in wrapping a tinsel garland around her palm.

"It was… I was merely doing my job, sir," she murmured back, before clearing her throat. "I figured he would be feeling lonely."

Gabriel studied what little he could see of her profile, the way she bit her lower lip, the way she kept her eyes down. He thought her self-consciousness was a little silly, to be frank.  _ I am perfectly fine with you loving my son. _

He wanted to make her turn to him to tell her so, but the gesture that came to him made him stop dead in his tracks. He should have pictured tapping her shoulder. Instead, his arm nearly wrapped itself around her waist, his body nearly pressed itself against her.

He clasped his hands behind his back, and did so  _ slowly _ , not to appear suspect.

It was all loneliness and lust and it meant nothing. He was no teenage boy. He could control himself.

"Be that as it may, Nathalie… It would not have occurred to me. It would be remiss of me not to be grateful for everything you do and have done for my son. You are taking excellent care of him."

She still wouldn't look at him. She tilted her head to the side, considering her answer. If he knew her well, she was hesitating between a rebuttal and thanking him.

"Thank you, sir."

The urge to make her turn came back, along with other notions that Gabriel pushed to the back of his mind, far, far back. He was a  _ married man. _ He would get Adele back.

He focused on the topic at hand.

"Never hesitate to force my hand a little. I  _ do _ welcome your suggestions. You have always shown good judgement where Adrien is concerned… where  _ everything _ is concerned, really."

Nathalie nodded.

"That… is good to know, sir," she replied, putting the garland into a box.

She had twisted it too much. It shed a rain of red sparkes.

Gabriel only idly noticed them. His attention was on Nathalie's neck, on the exposed skin between her hair and her collar, where he longed to press his lips.

Loneliness and lust.

He pushed the thoughts away and returned to the menial, yet distracting task of picking ornaments out of the Christmas tree. They both absorbed themselves into the task, trampling needles and clumsily reaching for baubles hanging  _ well _ above their heads (and Gabriel had heard himself described as freakishly tall on more than one occasion). The star at the top of the tree came last, then they stepped away, satisfied with their work.

"I'll bring the boxes brought to the attic," Nathalie announced. "Thank you for the help, sir.".

"It was nothing. Have you had lunch?"

"Not yet. I'll leave now, if you don't mind."

He acquiesced and nearly returned to his office, but she went on.

"Though, sir, while we are discussing Adrien… he is lonely. You should consider being more lenient on which friends of his can visit and when."

In other circumstances, Gabriel would have balked at the suggestion (at least a little). He did not. He had the distinct impression he would have acquiesced to any suggestion she could have made, no matter how nonsensical. He was not sure he liked it. He trusted her, obviously, but he liked being able to trust his own mind more.

That being said, this particular suggestion wasn't nonsensical. It was actually quite judicious.

He breathed in.

"Provided they can behave," he replied.

"Of course, sir."

 

###

 

Gabriel paid no mind to the doorbell. When he worked from home, deliveries were frequent: Nathalie would ask for documents from the main office, cloth samples, or even just lunch. He let her handle the visitors and hardly ever bothered to check who was at the door.

He did not look up from his drawings when Nathalie left the office to go open the door, nor when he heard Adrien's voice, then a female voice.

He only figured something was up when Nooroo, who was spying on the hallway through a crack in the door, chuckled.

Nooroo hardly ever laughed, unless exceedingly pleased. Needless to say, considering his situation as a slave, he was not pleased often. When he  _ was _ , it usually meant that Gabriel was in some sort of trouble. Of course, Nooroo was a kind soul. He would not have rejoiced in the misfortune of others, even his jailor. No. Nooroo was happy when something could have a 'positive impact' on Gabriel, by his own definition.

His master, who had a vastly different opinion of 'positive impact', ignored the giggle, joined his Kwami and closed the door.

Nooroo frowned at him, disappointed.

"I don't want to know," Gabriel murmured, so Nathalie and Adrien would not hear him from the hallway.

"It's sweet, really!" Nooroo protested.

His master shook his head and returned to his drawings. He had concept art to deliver and he wanted it done before the end of the day. He focused on it - frills, frills and more frills for a Carnival costume for Grâce Ouillette, who had started a feud with her usual designer and was in a hurry to get an outfit made for her party in February. It was easy work, though hardly interesting.

Five minutes down the line, Nathalie walked in, carefully closing the door behind her. Gabriel could hear laughter from the hallway. The front door was closed, then the voices moved to the courtyard.

"My apologies, sir," Nathalie murmured, walking to the window.

Nooroo had hidden behind Gabriel's reference books, but was peeking at Nathalie in the less stealthy fashion one could imagine. His master slammed the book shut in front of him, then joined Nathalie.

Adrien and his classmate - the young designer of the bowler hat contest, Gabriel remembered - were talking in the courtyard. Adrien was holding a cake box, which seemed decorated with the Dupain-Cheng's bakery logo.

"We're the sixth," Nathalie explained, still looking at the children. "I ordered a King Cake."

"Oh. The Epiphany, of course," Gabriel replied. "I had totally forgotten."

The date shouldn't have slipped his mind, really. Adrien was fond of all pastries, but King Cake was only ever sold on the Epiphany, which made it a 'rarity' (Gabriel insisted that they had a cook who could prepare them any day of the year, but it wasn't 'the same' as far as Adrien and Adele were concerned).

Nathalie sighed.

"I asked for a delivery with the hope that his friend could stay to share the cake with him but, unfortunately, she's expected elsewhere. It is a shame, really. I have it on good authority that she is fond of Adrien."

"'Good authority' meaning 'I have eyes', I assume?" Gabriel commented, smiling. "If she blushed just a little more, she would burst into flame."

Nathalie pursed her lips to hide a smile. It did not work.

"Yes, sir."

"It was an excellent idea. She strikes me as a promising young girl. Definitely talented."

"I think so too. She'll be on our shortlist for summer jobs as soon as she turns sixteen."

He nodded. The young girl was definitely the kind of new talent his company needed.

"Sir, if you are not too busy, I could use your assistance," Nathalie announced, which made him raise his eyebrows in wonder.

"My assistance?"

"For the cake, sir. I'll need you to distract Adrien while I serve the slices."

Gabriel had never quite seen the interest in the king cake's tradition, which was to hide a tiny figurine inside the pastry and to award a golden paper crown to the person who found it inside their slice. It was silly, but children  _ loved _ to be 'king for the day', and Adele had cheated and hidden the figurine inside Adrien's slice for the boy's entire childhood. Gabriel remembered his squeals of glee as a toddler, whenever Adele put the paper crown on his head.

Obviously, Nathalie remembered the trick. Maybe Adrien was past the age where cheating was still necessary, but it couldn't hurt.

Gabriel was glad she had thought of it.

Then minutes later, he found himself alone in the dining room with Adrien. Nathalie had absconded to the kitchen with the cake, which left Gabriel with the simple, yet incredibly complicated task of having a conversation with his son. It struck him how few and far between those were (but that was justified, he told himself, as family time would be infinitely more enjoyable with Adele back).

Thankfully, miss Dupain-Cheng's visit had provided a topic to discuss, and Gabriel was glad to discover that Adrien was fond of his classmate (and absolutely blind to all signs of the girl's feelings for him, which his father made sure not to point out).

The boy was discussing Marinette's sketchbook when Nathalie came back with plates and the king cake. She put all of that down on the table while Adrien inched closer and bit his lower lip in anticipation. His stomach rumbled.

"Which part do you want?" Nathalie asked, her smile nearly perfectly concealed. It still showed in her eyes.

Adrien raised a finger and moved it from left to right.

"Mmmmmmmh.  _ This one,  _ please."

That was Gabriel's clue.

"Do you know if Marinette would be interested in going to one of our fashion shows?" he asked his son. "I'm sure we could arrange something for her."

Adrien's eyes went wide and he entirely forgot about Nathalie (whose clumsy attempts at planting a tiny figurine inside Adrien's slice of cake were everything but discreet).

"Y-you would?" he gasped.

"Of course I would. She would only have to sign herself into indentured servitude to our comp-" Gabriel saw the look on his son's face. "Adrien, that was a  _ joke _ ."

The boy's stunned disbelief turned to hesitant amusement. His father took a deep breath.

"It is obvious she is talented and that her future is in fashion. I'd lie if I said we are not interested in acquiring the rising talents before the competition. Now don't you tell her that."

"I… I won't, father," Adrien replied, grinning from ear to ear.

"I mean it."

"I won't, I won't. I promise!"

Gabriel nodded and turned to Nathalie, who had prepared three slices and gestured for him to sit at the end of the table. She stayed on the left side with her own plate (Adrien had asked her to join them, of course). Adrien sat down on Gabriel's right, as expected of him.

Before taking a bite of his slice of cake, he inspected it, scanning its sides just in case the figurine could be seen (it could not). Then, he started eating with the excessive care of a child afraid to accidentally swallow the prize he was hoping for. Gabriel, who knew for a fact that the figurine was not in  _ his _ part, ate normally. 

"It's so good," Adrien commented between bites. "Don't you agree, Father? We should definitely buy more from the Dupain-Cheng's bakery."

Considering he had already promised backstage passes and a career for the Dupain-Cheng girl, Gabriel merely raised an eyebrow. Adrien stared at him with the expectant innocence that made him such fantastic advertising material.

Not to have to answer, Gabriel took another bite out of his slice of cake. He chewed on a piece of hard porcelain.

"Father got it!" Adrien exclaimed, grinning.

Gabriel slowly extracted the figurine out of his mouth, staring at Nathalie with what had to be the most betrayed look. She made sure to cover her mouth so he could not see her smile, but it was pointless: she was tearing up with amusement.

"It looks like I did," Gabriel commented, placing the figurine on the side of his plate.

Adrien was leaning over the table to grab the golden paper crown resting next to the cake.

"No," his father warned, with a sulky expression.

"Come on, Father! Just this once," the boy insisted, holding the silly crown out.

" _ Absolutely _ not," Gabriel retorted, making sure to exaggerate the tone of his protest, so his son would know it was just an act. He was expected to resist and relent, wasn't he? It was part of the fun.

"Pleeeease?" Adrien begged.

Gabriel huffed and grumbled, but took the crown.

"Very well. If you insist," he conceded, placing the ridiculous headgear on his head.

For such a minor gesture, it reaped wonderful rewards: Adrien looked  _ happy _ , elated, even. It was good seeing him in such a mood, and definitely worth looking a bit like a fool.

Gabriel smiled to him and resumed eating.

"Can we take a picture?" the boy dared to ask after less than a minute.

His father pretended to glower, resisted for a moment, then went along with it. The crown traveled from person to person, just as Adrien's phone, which served as a camera. Gabriel felt a petty sense of satisfaction when the crown ended up on Nathalie's head, even if only for a minute.

In the end, Adrien ran off with the silly thing, after wolfing down three slices of cake.

Gabriel found himself alone with Nathalie, who was collecting the empty plates to bring them back to the kitchen.

"I ought to fire you for this," he quipped, smiling.

She looked up from the table, turning to him and trying to compose herself. She did not quite manage to smother the smile on her face nor the warmth in her voice.

"I'm sorry, sir. I felt like some mirth would do him more good than a stroke of luck."

Once again, Gabriel was overwhelmed by a sudden need to  _ touch _ her. It was strong enough for him to pause, and to have to stop himself from moving towards her. He could hardly blame the attraction on loneliness, not at that precise moment, and he filed that thought for later.  _ Later _ , he would be free to ignore it.

"It was an excellent call," he replied.

"Thank you, sir," she murmured, all but whirling away to hide her embarrassment. 

Gabriel had to look away to keep his own feelings in check.

She quickly collected the plates and napkins, and hurried back to the kitchen, leaving her employer torn and irritated at himself.

"She is a blessing," Nooroo commented, flying out of his hiding place behind the curtains.

Gabriel took a second to collect himself.

"I know."

 

###

 

Valentine's day.

_ Valentine's day. _

Gabriel woke up and remembered the date immediately. It was not a date you forgot, not when it was carved into your wedding band, between a 'Adele & Gabriel' and a '1999'.

Instead of getting up and ready for the day, he took the ring off and rolled it between his fingers, reading and rereading the inscription. He clenched his fist around it and took a moment to compose himself. Failing to bring her back for  _ one _ wedding anniversary had been bad enough, but  _ two? _ There was not much left to feel but self-loathing.

After fifteen minutes, he got up and got dressed. He made sure his suit was pristine, down to the polished cufflinks and starched collar. Not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle on his jacket, not the slightest hint of disarray.

Dissolving into aimless rage would serve no purpose. He would find some rejected teenager to akumatize later on - why lose such a perfect opportunity to go after Ladybug? - but he would not make it personal. Efficiency was they key to victory. He had to remember that.

"Are you alright, master?" Nooroo asked as Gabriel exited his bedroom.

The Kwami's expression was clear enough. There was pity there, maybe worry.

"I am fine," Gabriel bit back.

Cowardly as he was, Nooroo nodded and vanished, leaving his master in a worse mood than before. That mood did not get any better when Gabriel walked into his office to find a panicked Nathalie giving frantic explanations over the phone. He retrieved his most recent sketches and sat down at the table, listening to her conversation with a factory owner who had not received the patterns he needed. From the sound of it, Nathalie was to blame. She apologized profusely and promised to send the patterns immediately.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel watched her hurry back to her computer then click and type away with growing levels of distress. After ten minutes of that, she ran her hands over her face.

"Is there an issue, Nathalie?" he drawled.

"Sir, would you happen to still have the email with the copy of the patterns for the girls' summer collection? I sent them to you for validation last week, but I can't find the emails and the files are not on the server."

He sighed, stood, and went to his own computer to check.

"What about the nightly backups?" he asked while typing his email's password.

"I'll call the tech department later on, see if they can retrieve the files," Nathalie replied. "If I don't find them first."

Gabriel shook his head, irritated, and searched through his message history. It took ten minutes for him to locate the files, and fifteen more to confirm he had indeed found the latest version of them. He sent them to Nathalie, who forwarded them to the factory and apologized again.

After that, he returned to his sketches, and Nathalie worked in silence for half an hour. They were interrupted by a visit from one of the main office's employees, who was delivering a full box of mail and paperwork.

Said paperwork, as it turned out, needed to be signed and mailed out before the end of the day.  _ 'Urgently _ ' was not a term he liked to hear when handed documents that had been waiting for his signature for more than a week. It wasn't like Nathalie to wait for the last minute, and he grew increasingly irritated as the morning went by. Every contract required a rereading and a discussion. It dragged on and on and on and on.

What made it so frustrating was all of that work could have been spread over the previous week. He had not been overly busy. As a matter of fact, his workload had been distinctly lighter than usual. In the end, he only had to hurry because of poor planning, which was infuriating in oh so many ways.

There was a silver lining: he had not been given a second to think about Valentine's day and everything that came with it.

"I don't get it, Nathalie," he ended up commenting, tapping the tip of his pen against his notepad. "Did something happen last week? I have never known you to let work pile…"

He went silent as his scattered thoughts connected. He turned to her. She was sitting next to him, with more contracts spread before her, and the dwindling pile of paperwork by her side.

"Once again, sir, I am deeply sorry. I got sidetracked and couldn't get to those documents earlier. It won't happen again."

She was such a good liar.

"Nathalie. Did you by any chance keep as much work as possible for today in order to distract me?"

Gabriel did not need a confirmation. He knew her. He should have seen through the ruse from the moment she had admitted to 'losing' critical files. Nathalie did not 'lose' files. Nathalie had the most efficient sorting and indexing system he had ever seen, and a solid backup strategy on top of that.

She swallowed and shifted away, wetting her lips.

"I…"

A second later, he cupped the side of her face, giving her a chance to stop him. Then he kissed her.

Her first reaction was no reaction at all. She was stunned. She had not expected it - much to his surprise, as he had felt transparent for months now - and he nearly pulled away. Her shock only lasted a second, however. Before he could break the kiss, she put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him closer.

 

###

 

_ I will have so much explaining to do, _ Gabriel mused, lying naked in his bed next to a woman who was not his wife. Strangely enough, he felt little to no guilt, but more of a sense of wonder, of puzzlement, and… quietness.

He had not felt so serene since Adele's disappearance. Logic suggested it was merely a result of physical release, but he was not so sure of that. He had always felt comfortable around Nathalie (not in in such an intimate way, of course, but intimacy had been reserved for Adele). Nathalie was reserved, she was professional, she was competent, she was observant. He felt like he was not as much keeping his walls up around her as merely conforming to the behavior of an employer.

He was not one to have friends, but - if he was to be honest - she was the closest thing he had to one.

Was it so unreasonable of him to long for more? Was it so surprising?

Really, if there was anything at all to be surprised about, it was that the interest could be reciprocated. Gabriel knew for a fact his personality was not the most appealing on his  _ best _ days, and the last few months had been…

Really, she was being too forgiving.

He looked at her - her pale, blurry outline, laying on her side next to him - just to get an idea of her mood. She was equally lost in thought. She was staring through his chest, as far as he could tell. There was some kind of line across her nose and cheek, and he had to squint to realize it was just a loose hair.

Just seeing it there tickled him. He brushed it away with one hand, and found that his hand would not leave Nathalie's skin.

_ So much explaining to do. _

Nathalie shifted under the caress, with a sharp intake of breath, but relaxed and closed her eyes. He let his hand drift to her hip.

"It was quite a risky strategy you used," he murmured. "Certainly creative."

She tensed, opening her eyes but not looking up.

"I… I'm sorry. I knew it might be a… difficult day for you, so I figured, if it had to be so, the difficulties could as well be…"

"Aggravating but inconsequential."

Nathalie went silent, guilt clear on her face. A moment went by. She breathed in.

"With all due respect, Gabriel, I did not know how else to reach you," she explained, voice laced with tiredness. "You don't make it easy."

Gabriel would have argued against that statement - especially since, in the circumstances they were in, he felt very much  _ reached _ \- but she was right.

He pressed himself against her. It spoke louder than words. She wrapped an arm around him.

He should have been pulling away, insisting it had all been a mistake, a moment of weakness, that it was best to put it behind them. On another day, he would have.

Nathalie  _ finally _ met his eyes.

"I have to admit this was… unexpected."

She tightened her embrace, leaving the rest of her thoughts unsaid, yet clear.

"For someone who knows me so well," Gabriel replied, "you sure missed some obvious signs. I was..."

He cleared his throat.

"And you don't give yourself enough credit," he continued. "What would be 'unexpected' would be for me not to have noticed you at all."

Briefly, she lowered her eyes. Gabriel followed her gaze to his hand and wedding band. He slipped his hand behind her back, out of sight. She wet her lips and avoided his eyes, flustered. It only made him want to repeat his words and punctuate them with kisses. Among other things.

Gabriel brushed his thumb against his wedding band, finding that both his guilt and sense of propriety were taking a leave of absence. He was well aware of the lasting consequences of indulging in… adultery, really. He knew what complications would come. He could not find the will to care.

"I am going to assume those contracts are  _ not _ , as a matter of fact, due today?"

"No, s… No. I wouldn't have taken such a risk."

"Of course not," Gabriel murmured, kissing her.

So he would have some explaining to do. He would explain. 

Another day.

 

###


End file.
